Washington (CNN) – She went from atheist to Catholic in just over 1,000 words.

Leah Libresco, who’d been a prominent atheist blogger for the religion website Patheos, announced on her blog this week that after years of debating many “smart Christians,” she has decided to become one herself, and that she has begun the process of converting to Catholicism.

Libresco, who had long blogged under the banner “Unequally Yoked: A geeky atheist picks fights with her Catholic boyfriend,” said that at the heart of her decision were questions of morality and how one finds a moral compass.

“I had one thing that I was most certain of, which is that morality is something we have a duty to,” Libresco told CNN in an interview this week, a small cross dangling from her neck. “And it is external from us. And when push came to shove, that is the belief I wouldn’t let go of. And that is something I can’t prove.”

According to a Patheos post she wrote on Monday, entitled “This is my last post for the Patheos Atheist Portal,” she began to see parts of Christianity and Catholicism that fit her moral system. Though she now identifies as a Catholic, Libresco questions certain aspects of Catholicism, including the church’s positions on homosexuality, contraception and some aspects of religious liberty.

“There was one religion that seemed like the most promising way to reach back to that living Truth,” Libresco wrote about Catholicism in her conversion announcement post, which has been shared over 18,000 times on Facebook. “I asked my friend what he suggests we do now, and we prayed the night office of the Liturgy of the Hours together.”

At the end of the post, Libresco announces that she is in a Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults class and is preparing for baptism. She will continue to blog for Patheos, but under the banner, “A geeky convert picks fights in good faith.”

According to Dan Welch, director of marketing for Patheos, Libresco’s post has received around 150,000 page views so far.

“Leah's blog has gotten steadily more popular since she arrived at Patheos, but a typical post on her blog is probably closer to the range of 5,000 page views,” Welch wrote in an email. “Even now, a few days later, her blog is probably getting 20-30 times its normal traffic.”

Libresco’s announcement has left some atheists scratching their heads.

“I think atheists were surprised that she went with Catholicism, which seems like a very specific choice,” Hemant Mehta, an atheist blogger at Patheos, told CNN. “I have a hard time believing how someone could jump from I don’t believe in God to a very specific church and a very specific God.”

Mehta says that Libresco’s conversion is a “one-off thing” and not something that signals any trend in atheism. “The trends are very clear, the conversions from Catholicism to atheism are much more likely to happen than the other way around,” he said.

But while atheists were puzzled by the conversion, others commended Libresco.

“I know I’ve prayed for her conversion several times, always thinking she would make a great Catholic,” wrote Brandon Vogt, a Catholic blogger. “And with this news, it looks like that will happen. Today heaven is roaring with joy.”

Thomas L. McDonald, a Catholic Patheos blogger, welcomed Libresco to the fold: “Welcome. I know this was hard, and will continue to be so. Don’t worry if the Catholics make it as for difficult for you as the atheists. We only do it to people we love.”

Libresco says one of the most common questions she has received is how she'll deal with atheists now.

“The great thing about a lot of the atheist and skeptic community is that people talk more critically about ideas and want to see proof provided,” Libresco said. “That kind of analytical thinking is completely useful and the Catholic Church doesn’t need to and should not be afraid of because if you’ve got the facts on your side, you hope they win.”

soundoff(7,475 Responses)

god in the religious sense simply doesn't exist. no amount of conversions or beheadings is going to change that.

June 22, 2012 at 10:22 pm |

Just Claims, No Truth

Oh the Christians will eat this up! She will make a ton of money from this scam.

June 22, 2012 at 10:21 pm |

*frank*

Epic fail.

June 22, 2012 at 10:15 pm |

Blast Hardcheese

When I heard that God sent himself
As a sacrifice to himself,
To appease himself,
Of sins invented by himself,
Committed by people he created himself,
I knew he loved me and turned to Jesus. Because it made so much sense.

June 22, 2012 at 10:11 pm |

Answer

The word is "nonsense".

June 22, 2012 at 10:13 pm |

Voice of Reason

Go f*uck yourself and your bullsh*it. You're an idiot!

June 22, 2012 at 10:13 pm |

Blast Hardcheese

My god can kill himself to make himself happy. Can the god of the atheists do that?! CHECKMATE, ATHEISTS.

June 22, 2012 at 10:22 pm |

Answer

"Can the god of the atheists do that?! CHECKMATE, ATHEISTS."

LOL

Just who is our god? hahhaha . Funny religious freaks.

June 22, 2012 at 10:24 pm |

Yodellin' Bob Rides Tall in the Saddle

Cheesey hit a nerve! Nice shootin', Tex!!

June 22, 2012 at 10:29 pm |

I'm not a GOPer, nor do I play one on TV

@Blast Hardcheese,

Well ... J Robert Oppenheimer reflecting on what they, as scientists, had done, famously quoted the Bhagavad-Gita: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.".

We can all be thankful that particular science hasn't destroyed us all, yet.

June 22, 2012 at 10:37 pm |

The Hot Hands of an Oslo Dentist

Actually, that particular science you so despise kept the Cold War from ever going hot. Had there only been conventional weapons at the end of WWII, Stalin would have kept invading and China would have gone for the rest of Asian. Both were too big to go against, especially at the same time.

June 22, 2012 at 11:00 pm |

Voice of Reason

Give me a break! This is a religious sham scam! What religious organization would allow a "real" atheist to have a blog on their website? I'm not buying it. She never was an atheist because she doesn't know what an atheist is. Once you are an atheist you are an atheist until the day you die.

June 22, 2012 at 10:11 pm |

Jim P.

In one quote she says she can't prove the facts of her belief and in a second she says the "church" has the facts on its side.

Which is it? And how much of this was due to pressure from your boyfriend or a wish to please him?

Sad to see such fuzzy thinking and invalid use of logic in what appeared to be a rational person.

June 22, 2012 at 10:09 pm |

Answer

People are desperate for companionship that stuff like this happens. It's conclusive proof that when you get converted into religion you become really stupid.

June 22, 2012 at 10:12 pm |

Just Claims, No Truth

C'mon, two quotes that contradict each other directly, she is going to make a great christian!

And I love the part where the atheist community was surprised she picked such a specific god and religion, catholicism. They must have missed the part where it said her boyfirend was catholic.

June 22, 2012 at 10:18 pm |

David

This is the most insane load of dribble. No self respecting atheist would have ever read her lame blog, which by the looks of it was designed to have her "covert" from the start. Yet suddenly she is some "top atheist blogger"? REALLY...? If a no name idiot christian blogger suddenly became an atheist would CNN have a story about it? Of course not. This is the most blatant pandering I have seen in a long time, and whoever wrote the story should be ashamed of themselves.

June 22, 2012 at 10:08 pm |

llɐq ʎʞɔnq

No atheist ever heard of her. She is a Valley Girl/air-head. It's fun watching TheoreticalBullsh1t give Craig a run for his pompous money, (a REAL atheist brain).

June 22, 2012 at 10:13 pm |

Blast Hardcheese

You're a "Top Blogger" when most of your blog posts have zero shares and zero likes, apparently.

I think she just got tired of not being noticed. Many people have gone to greater lengths for far less attention.

June 22, 2012 at 10:13 pm |

Runny Softcheese

I still think it's all about the Catholic boyfriend, and totally abandonig her previous statements without losing face while still getting to marry him.

June 22, 2012 at 10:32 pm |

David

I don't care about her motivations at all really, I am just annoyed that CNN would actually run a story about it. As if the case for atheism had just been dealt a deadly blow. It's twisted.

June 22, 2012 at 11:12 pm |

Veritas

Do you know what really winds me up about atheists? They carp on in a superior fashion about how awful religion is then sulk like big girls when you insult them back whining "You can't say that it isn't Christian" Please crawl back to your trailer, you're missing "America's got talent"

June 22, 2012 at 10:07 pm |

Answer

Just because you're mad at us -at us rejecting you fools- get over it... Just chill out and go back to the caves where you belong.

June 22, 2012 at 10:10 pm |

llɐq ʎʞɔnq

What winds me up about theists, is how they arrogantly call themselves "Veriats", "as if" they alone posessed the "truth", or even a tiny amount of it.

June 22, 2012 at 10:10 pm |

I'm not a GOPer, nor do I play one on TV

@Veritas,

Doesn't everyone deserve a little respect? I agree that many here are dismissive and rude, whether they profess theism or atheism. It is tiresome, but that still doesn't make it right to join in.

Why would you want to sink to their level?

June 22, 2012 at 10:17 pm |

Answer

It's a common fact that when religious people that get blasted by reason and in huge quant.ities of it, they turn up the hate to defend their delusions.

June 22, 2012 at 10:22 pm |

Voice of Reason

The first thing she needs to do is get a nose job then onto the nearest psychiatrist.

June 22, 2012 at 9:51 pm |

llɐq ʎʞɔnq

That is an awesome schnozola.

June 22, 2012 at 10:04 pm |

Voice of Reason

She has enough nose to donate to a dozen nose-less people for crying out loud!

June 22, 2012 at 10:07 pm |

Runny Softcheese

A lot of Clearasil would help. And a huge does of self esteem so that she doesn't give future blogs such insecure names like "Unequally Yoked: A geeky atheist picks fights with her Catholic boyfriend.”

June 22, 2012 at 10:35 pm |

Bet

I don't agree with converting to a belief system that you have so many questions about, contraception, ho.mose.xuality, and "some aspects of religious liberty" but bashing her appearance? That's pretty lame.

She looks fine. Getting personal like that is bad form no matter what side of the fence you're on. You may not agree with her decision, but comments like that aren't very nice, nor are they relevant to the article.

June 22, 2012 at 11:19 pm |

Andrew

Of all of them. Why Catholic? Oh she had a Catholic boyfriend.

June 22, 2012 at 9:41 pm |

Andrew

To be fair. Most young atheists are atheist out of rebellion towards their parents.

June 22, 2012 at 9:43 pm |

llɐq ʎʞɔnq

Andrew : prove it.

June 22, 2012 at 9:46 pm |

Tom

Andrew. I agree. When and if Leah ever figures it out you won't see the news agencies plastring it all over the web.

June 22, 2012 at 9:48 pm |

Humanist11

To be fair, most young Christians, Muslims, Mormons, etc are only religious because their parents forced/brainwashed them into believing. The smart, courageous ones will grow out of it.

June 22, 2012 at 9:53 pm |

Rosendo

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

June 22, 2012 at 9:37 pm |

llɐq ʎʞɔnq

Yes Rosendo, one must be baptised, in order to become a god, just as St. Augustine told us :

God became man that you might become gods – Augustine of Hippo in the 5th century AD

If, therefore, man has become immortal, he will also be God. And if he is made God by water and the Holy Spirit after the regeneration of the laver he is found to be also joint-heir with Christ after the resurrection of the dead – Hippolytus, Discourse On The Holy Theiphany, (section) 8; ANF, Vol. V. pg 237).

June 22, 2012 at 9:55 pm |

Humanist11

I guess that rules out about 90% of the world's population and the entire animal kingdom. Your god seems extremely evil if he sees the need send most of his creations to eternal torture. Your scripture quote is a tool of fear in order to keep the blind faith followers in line. It is good for the rest of us that your god and the bible are works of fiction.

June 22, 2012 at 10:00 pm |

Veritas

Humanist – God sent His Son to die for the whole world. All you have to do is believe in Him and follow what Jesus taught. "No-one can come to the Father except through me."

Now, it's not rocket science to work out that the invitation is there. It's for EVERY living person. All are welcome. It's HARDLY God's fault if you refuse the invite, now is it?

So stop with the outrage already and THINK about the invitation!

June 22, 2012 at 10:12 pm |

llɐq ʎʞɔnq

Veritas,
Why did your god set up the system where he required human scarifice ? Why didn't he, if he was really loving, just say, "I forgive you" ?

June 22, 2012 at 10:17 pm |

Bet

@ Veritas

"it's not rocket science". You got that right, lol.

June 23, 2012 at 12:11 am |

Tom

I think she chose the wrong Religion. Everyone KNOWS Islam is the truth and the only way to true happiness.

I jest of course.

June 22, 2012 at 9:36 pm |

Humanist11

Assuming that she was a true atheist, I'm sure she will come back to reason once she grows up. When you are young one must try a bit of everything in order to find yourself. She'll be back!

June 22, 2012 at 9:35 pm |

A Question for Leah Libresco

I realize that Leah is probably not reading this, but if by some chance you are, ask yourself the followong question. Don't just give it a quicky knee-jerk response, but actually think it through carefully before you decide. Do not answer here to us – it is for you to ponder so that you are honest with yourself.

If your boyfriend was Reform Jewish, would you still be converting to Catholicism?

If the answer is in any way "no" or "maybe not", you have some soul searching to do.

June 22, 2012 at 9:34 pm |

Chad

@A Question for Leah Libresco "If your boyfriend was Reform Jewish, would you still be converting to Catholicism? If the answer is in any way "no" or "maybe not", you have some soul searching to do."

=>If the answer was "no", then she would just be adopting the religion of her boyfriend no matter what that religion was.. Hardly an authentic conversion.
=>If the answer is "yes", then her conversion would be authentic.

June 22, 2012 at 9:37 pm |

A Question For Leah Libresco

Chad, you are a total idiot.

June 22, 2012 at 9:43 pm |

Michelle

Read the blog. She broke up with the Catholic boyfriend a long time ago. He has nothing to do with her conversion.

June 22, 2012 at 9:54 pm |

llɐq ʎʞɔnq

To sum it up, her conversion was because she came to believe in the fundamentalist/literalist interpretation of Greek Idealism, (and it's moral corolaries). She will no doubt change her mind, when she gets to Phil 102.

June 22, 2012 at 10:08 pm |

Answer

@Bucky Ball

I say let her stay in 'that' stupid pool. It will be a just example of how one can live a lie.

June 22, 2012 at 10:18 pm |

llɐq ʎʞɔnq

Agree. Read her blog for about 1 minute. "like fer sure", there really IS a "chair" out 'there". haha (The one I am sitting on is only a "representation" of "chair".)

June 22, 2012 at 10:24 pm |

The Hot Hands of an Oslo Dentist

How did you get her blog to come up? I went to the site and only found things like, I kid you not "The Happy Atheist" (where do they find these intellectual featherweights?). Tried searching her name but only got other peoples' comments on her.

June 22, 2012 at 11:09 pm |

The Hot Hands of an Oslo Dentist

Never mind. Found it. Wish I hadn't. Lightweight and boring, tons of jargon to make the light sound weighty.

June 22, 2012 at 11:20 pm |

polycarp pio

Whatever your going to be , do it with all your heart, soul,body,mind,spirit or dont do it at all. There are far to many mouth professors and not heart possessors in the Christian world. The worldly look at the church as a divided wet noodle with no power or authority and we ask them to choose our faith from the smorgasboard of different religions and philosophies and wonder why they laugh at us for believing this"myth". We have done a poor job of representing the Lord Jesus Christ. My faith has power and authority, it is tangible and very evident to me, I have seen healings ,not imagined,I have experienced the literal power of God knock me down as a sign and wonder, I have experienced joy unspeakable to the point that I could not stand it and could not stand up anymore, My God is very real and all powerful and shame on you brothers and sisters presenting a powerless gospel to a lost and dying world, REPENT CHURCH and return to the true church of the book of acts. PAX ET BONUM. PP

June 22, 2012 at 9:34 pm |

Dr. RealWorld

Your schizophrenia can be managed with a mix of good therapy and appropriate medications.

June 22, 2012 at 9:36 pm |

Joem

@polycarp pio, I agree poor representation of Christ is the problem here.

June 22, 2012 at 10:20 pm |

AirUpThere

I think it was just that time of the month where all women get a bit irrational...she will convert back in a week.
On a more serious note the article seems to convey a little that she has converted because religion seems to answer her questions about morality. For too long people assume that science and morality cannot coexist in the same sentence.
Science is not a construct of humans, it is a process that seeks answers and explains the universe in which we live.
Gravity causes an apple to fall out of the tree and will continue to do so long after we are gone. It is a fact. The problem with all people of religion is that they tend to ignore the facts.
All of our feelings and questions about morality that define us as being human come down to one thing....our large brains. Why is it so hard to admit that neurobiology and science can help us to explain and answer these moral questions that we think only religion can offer us?

June 22, 2012 at 9:33 pm |

Tex Oregon, the Alabama Kid

Catholic boyfriend with Catholic mom won't marry her unless she is Catholic. That's what it is really about. This is just a horse-and-pony show to cover that up, to make her feel like less of a twit for abandoning what she was in print supporting. It feels like a pig to her, so she got out her lipstick.

June 22, 2012 at 9:41 pm |

AirUpThere

Quote “I had one thing that I was most certain of, which is that morality is something we have a duty to,” “And it is external from us. And when push came to shove, that is the belief I wouldn’t let go of. And that is something I can’t prove.”

she began to see parts of Christianity and Catholicism that fit her moral system. End quote

People think that only religion can help explain how to act in a morally good way. She has stated the parts of christianity and catholicism fits her moral compass. I dont doubt that for a second, Im sure it has. Different religions see and value morality in different ways, and it makes sense that people will associate there own feelings and pull to a certain type of religion. It seems ok for muslims to beat there wifes for showing to much skin in Public, that is an expression of their morality, conversley in western societies it seems ok that we can dress our young kids up as adults early and show countless degrading images of women across the media. Can we say that one way is better then the other? To do so would imply that one would have to be wrong. They could both be wrong, couldnt they? . I simple argue that through science it is possible to determine how we should be treating others and what is the right and wrong way to behave. What this will offcouse mean is that some cultures, some religions and their certain ways of expression will turn out to be wrong. The benefit however will be a moral compass that we all share, If we all had and new the right ways to act and to treat people, this world would be a far better place. There are right and wrong answers, we just need to find them.

Prayer doesn't seem to change much for the 15,000,000 children who starve to death in Africa every year.

If God has a plan for their lives, it's a pretty terrible plan.

June 22, 2012 at 9:46 pm |

Humanist11

Prayer wastes time and trades real efforts for fantasy. Atheism removes the false man made barriers religions place on people and allows people to be truly happy without guilt. We are free to love who we want, study science, be amazed at natures miracles and let our natural curiosities grow. We have excellent morals that evolution has given us that come naturally in spite of religion's attempt to corrupt them. Atheism is empowering and certainly healthy for all humans!

June 22, 2012 at 9:46 pm |

Veritas

Smurf Yaaaaaawn. – EVERY time religion is mentioned, you come up with the same 'cut and paste' job. Change the record please , you boring little termite.

Oh! I just got a "special"message – A voice said:- "When an atheist twit annoys you, just remember your science lesson. It takes:
42 muscles to frown, 28 muscles to smile, but only 4 to extend your arm and smack someone in the mouth,"
Hvae a good day!

June 22, 2012 at 10:04 pm |

Red Flags All Over The Place

She was an atheist blogger on a . . . religious website? Yeah, you just know that the religious website picked the brightest, most hard hitting atheist they could find. Really. They wouldn't cop out to hiring a little girl who suggested “Unequally Yoked: A geeky atheist picks fights with her Catholic boyfriend” as her approach or anything.

“Unequally Yoked: A geeky atheist picks fights with her Catholic boyfriend” – anyone else notice the emphasis on her boyfriend? And her insecurities? And "geeky atheist picks fights with Catholic boyfriend" is not exactly an cutting-edge intellectual approach for a blogger.

Yeah, they went for the heavyweight.

Catholic boyfriend (with concerned Catholic mother, no doubt), and at that age she wants to marry, and Catholicism gets weird about marrying non-Catholics with Catholics (know this one from experience). And suddenly she decides that since she cannot figure out why people could behave decently, then nobody else could also, so there must be a God and it must be the Catholic God, and now she can get married ! ! ! (WAIT -scratch that last bit!).

And her intellectual pride is superficially intact because she put up this pseudointellectualy facade that makes her conversion lofty and abstract and jargony, just like her blogs (try reading one), and so she can live in denial of the reality that she sold out her values for love . . . which I actually would respect more than the fraud she is perpetrating on herself.

Ah well. No loss really. Thousands of Catholics go secualr to every one of her that go the other way.

June 22, 2012 at 9:25 pm |

Veritas

You're 30 years behind the times. Catholics do NOT have a problem with "mixed marriages" not since the 30' and 40s.

As for the rest pof your verbal diahorrea, you're not clever; actually, you're a boring old fart!

June 22, 2012 at 9:36 pm |

Red Flags All Over The Place

Really? You think that strongly Catholic families don't put heavy pressure on children to marry within their faith? You really want to stand on that statement? I don't even have to bother with refuting that whopper.

The rest of your response is pure ad hominem. Avoided every point made and went for personal insult. How Christian of you!

June 22, 2012 at 9:49 pm |

Bet

@ Veritas

30 years ago would have been the 1980s, not the 1930s – 1940s, but whatever.

A catholic can marry a non-catholic in the church, but the non-catholic must be a baptized christian. If you're going to convert just for the sake of marriage, why not just go for convenience all the way and convert to whatever your significant other practices.

I was raised in a strict catholic home, and the pressure to marry a catholic can be intense. I know many people who were pressured to convert in order to marry their SO. Other religions do the same. I know people who've converted to Judaism, Islam and catholicism in order to marry. Personally, I wouldn't want to live a lie like that, but people choose what want.

June 22, 2012 at 11:37 pm |

Smurfette

"cool"/ How so?

June 22, 2012 at 9:23 pm |

maria

i think it's cool that she decided to become catholic. congrats, is what i say!

June 22, 2012 at 9:15 pm |

citizenmn

I think it's pathetic she choose a distorted interpretation of Christianity.

June 22, 2012 at 9:23 pm |

Smurfette

"cool"? How so?

June 22, 2012 at 9:24 pm |

Blast Hardcheese

This is only "cool" for the pro-molestation crowd.

June 22, 2012 at 9:26 pm |

Smurfette

@ citizen – isn't it pathetic that she chose ANY form of Christianity? Isn't that like arguing over who would win a fight – superman vs batman

June 22, 2012 at 9:30 pm |

Veritas

Oh Streuth! All the atheists and godless misfits have come out of the woodwork to have a hissy fit!

Someone [ particularly a card-carrying ATHEIST] chooses to become a Catholic!!!!!!!! You losers really can't handle it, can you!
You talk about Catholics trying to force their religion on others? Listen to yourselves! Bigots an d hypocrites to a man.

Get over yourselves. And mind your own business. You're like a crowd of old ladies gossiping over the garden fence.

June 22, 2012 at 9:43 pm |

The Bird Is The Word

@Veritas: Tell me where I can get an Atheist Card. I want one. I"ll never leave home without it.

June 22, 2012 at 10:04 pm |

Answer

Why do the religious freaks label atheists' as "godless" as a means to insult when it is the greatest of compliments to us..

So hilarious.

June 22, 2012 at 10:08 pm |

Veritas

@Bird IsThe Word – I love your response. lol. It cheered me up after all the other comments here!

June 22, 2012 at 10:15 pm |

llɐq ʎʞɔnq

Get yer Atheist card up ta the rectory. Beware when Father says "bend over, and I'll get you one".

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.